Netflix subscribers getting into the patriotic spirit can now celebrate the Fourth of July weekend with one of Tom Cruise’s biggest hits.
Born on the Fourth of July, the 1989 Oscar-winning biopic starring Cruise as real-life Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist Ron Kovic, was just added to the streamer’s content catalog, making it the perfect film to watch this Independence Day.
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Widely regarded as one of the actor’s best movies, Born on the Fourth of July is based on the true story of Kovic, a young American born on Independence Day who enlists in the Marines during the Vietnam War. After he accidentally kills a fellow soldier during a retreat and later becomes permanently paralyzed in battle during his second tour of Vietnam, he returns home to the U.S. and becomes an impassioned critic of the war. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film also stars Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Jerry Levine, Frank Whaley, and Willem Dafoe.
Born on the Fourth of July is not only a perfect Independence Day film, but also considered to be one of Cruise’s strongest performances. Reviewing the movie in 1989, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “nothing [Tom] Cruise has done will prepare you for what he does in Born on the Fourth of July… his performance is so good that the movie lives through it.” Chris Bumbray added for JoBlo that “for Cruise, it was a showcase role, and if anyone still doubted him in 1989, this movie would end any speculation that he was just a movie star, rather than a legitimately talented actor. Cruise is outstanding.”
The film as a whole was well-received by critics, ultimately earning a total of eight nominations at the 62nd Academy Awards, including for Best Picture and Best Actor for Cruise. It also grossed $162 million worldwide against a $17.8 million budget and holds an 84% critics score and 76% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The New York Times’ Vincent Canby said Born on the Fourth of July was “the most ambitious nondocumentary film yet made about the entire Vietnam experience…it connects the war of arms abroad with the war of conscience at home,” as reviewer James Berardinelli praised the film’s “contrasting of the glorious illusion of war as seen from thousands of miles away to the barbarity of it up-close.”
Born on the Fourth of July is one of several patriotic films currently streaming on Netflix, with other viewing options including Da 5 Bloods, The Six Triple Eight, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, All Quiet on the Western Front, and 1917, among numerous others.